Timothy Weah: My dad is George Weah but the game you see is my own game

Having a father who is a football legend can have its fair share of pros and cons but for Timothy Weah, he is ready to prove that he can be his own man instead of walking in George Weah’s shadows.

SINGAPORE – When Paris Saint-Germain named their roster for the trip to Singapore for the 2018 International Champions Cup (ICC), there were a slew of star names missing but little did we know that Thomas Tuchel had an 18-year-old who was ready to take on the world.

SINGAPORE – JULY 28: Timothy Weah of Paris Saint Germain and Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal chase for the ball during the International Champions Cup.

On Saturday night, he took on Shkodran Mustafi n the 59th minute and was hauled down by the Arsenal defender to earn his side a penalty, signaling his arrival on the big stage.

The boy in question is Timothy Weah, son of former AC Milan and PSG great George Weah. With a father who scored 32 goals in 96 appearances for the French giants, young Weah has huge shoes to fill but he is refusing to let himself be dwarfed in comparison to his senior.

“I don’t see that name on my back, it is the fans who see it so there is no pressure,” Weah told reporters after the game. “I just try and play my own game and every single time I get out there, the plan is to leave it all behind and leave my name on the pitch.

“I’m not rushing anything. I just want to build my game and keep working. If I have to be on the bench the whole season and watch (the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe play), I don’t have a problem with that because it’s all part of learning. I’m still young and have a whole career ahead of me.”

By the time Weah was born in 2000, his father was already in the twilight years of an illustrious career and Timothy never had the opportunity of watching his father play in person.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen the type of goals his father has scored and Timothy revealed that even till today, he is still watching old match highlights to pick up a thing or two from father’s renowned striking prowess.

He said: “Growing up I wasn’t born when my father was playing but I have watched videos of him playing on Youtube,

“I still watch his videos and try to take something away from it but the game you guys see out there is all me, and I have been working on it over the years… I’m almost there but I got to keep pushing and working hard and see where this season takes me.

“As for my parents, there hasn’t been a lot of criticism from them about my game recently and they are really proud of where I am today.”

Weah was eligible to represent France, Jamaica, Liberia and the United States (U.S.) at the international level but being born in in New York City, he chose to turn out for the U.S. national team and became the first player born in the 2000s to earn a senior cap when he made his debut against Paraguay in March this year.

He then went on to score his first international goal against Bolivia in May and is considered to be one of the key players for the U.S. senior team who are in the process of rebuilding their squad after failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Despite all that he has achieved at this young age, Weah has kept his feet firmly on the ground as he vows to continue improving as a player for both club and country.

Tim Weah #11 and Josh Sargent #13 of the United States celebrate after a goal by Sargent in the second half of the friendly soccer match against Bolivia at Talen Energy Stadium on May 28, 2018 in Chester, Pennsylvania.

“Making my debut for the U.S. men’s national team is huge for me at such a young age and that gave me the opportunity to say I’ve done well with one team but now I have to come back to PSG and show what I can do,” he exclaimed.

“Be it coming off the bench for top players like (Edinson) Cavani, Neymar or (Kylian) Mbappe and then going back to my national team and potentially becoming a starter, that is all just part of the plan and all I can do is to give it all I’ve got on the pitch every day.”

Weah will have another opportunity to impress new PSG manager Thomas Tuchel when they take on Atletico Madrid to round up their ICC tour in Singapore on Monday.